Samsung reshuffles board of directors

March 28th 2018 | Multiple countries | Internet | Samsung Electronics

On March 23rd Samsung Electronics Co Ltd appointed its president, Sang-Hoon Lee, as chairman of its board, following an approval from shareholders. Mr Lee will replace Oh-Hyun Kwon, who held the chairman's post along with that of the South Korean company's chief executive (CEO).

With Mr Lee's appointment, Samsung has separated the roles of its CEO and board chairman for the first time. The company expects the move to increase the independence of its board of directors. Samsung also expanded its board from 9 to 11 members. It nominated the heads of its three business units—Kinam Kim, Hyunsuk Kim and Dongjin Koh—as well as three independent directors to the board.

The reshuffle comes amid efforts in South Korea to reduce the influence exerted by the founding families of various conglomerates on their operations. In 2017 Samsung's de-facto chief, Lee Jae-yong, was convicted in a corruption scandal involving the country's former president, Park Geun-hye.

Separately, the smartphone giant said that it had launched its digital wallet, Samsung Pay in Italy. Launched in 2015, the mobile payment service is now available in 21 markets, including the US, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brazil and Spain. Samsung Pay is compatible with a host of Samsung's latest devices, including the Galaxy Note8, S8 +, S8, S7 edge and S7 smartphones.